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P. F. MORRIS.

CIRCUIT CLOSER FOR SIGNAL DEVICES.

* APPLICAI'ION FILED IIHY I2, I97. 1.30%100. afeme June 17, 1919.

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4 5 4/ #,/W////f U PATRICK F. MORRIS, OF BUTTE, MONTANA.

CIRCUI'ILOLOSEB.4 FOR SIGNAL DEVICES.

Specification of Letters Patent. lPgmQntgq-)d Jun@ 1?, 1919,

Application led May 12, 1917. Serial No. 168,135.

To all 'whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, PATRICK F. Moteurs, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Butte, in the county of Silverbow and State of Montana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Circuit-@losers for Signal Devices; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in signals for mine cages and the principal object of the invention is to provide a signaling means by which a signal may be actuated in the engine room in order to notify the engineer in case of an accident within a mine shaft.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device the power source of which is mounted on the mine cage and provided with a switch by which the signal may be actuated.

With these and other objects in View, the invention consists in the novel combination and arrangement of parts which will be fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a sectional View through a mine shaft, showing this device applied thereto and illustrating the cage partly elevated;

Fig. 2 is a detail elevation of the switch; and

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view through the switch showing the contact.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the mine shaft having the usual cage 2 movable therein. One wall of the mine shaft supports suitable insulators 3 on which a trolley wire l is supported. The cage 2 is raised and lowered by means of a cable 5 wound on a drum 6 within the engine room 7 and mounted in said engine room is a signal bell 8 one terminal of which is connected by means of a wire 9 to the trolley wire l while the opposite terminal is connected by a wire 10 to the ground.

`Secured in the upper end of the mine cage is a suitable battery 11 having one terminal connected to the frame of the cage by means of the wire 11, and the cable 5 is electrically connected to the frame and to the hoisting apparatus which is grounded so as to form a ground terminal while the opposite terminal of the battery is connected by a wire 12 to the switch designated generically by the Ynumeral 13 which will be more fully hereinafter described. The opposite terminal of the switch is connected bv means of a wire 15 to the trolley 16 which runs against the trolley wire l. It will thus be seen that upon operating the circuit closerl 13 the circuit will be completed through the battery and trolley wire, thence through the wire 9 into the bell 8 and through the wire 10 and the ground back to the battery. In this way it will be seen that a signal may be given in the engine house in event of any accident within the V:mine shaft.

The circuit closer above referred to comprises a cylindrical shell 17 the upper end of which is closed by a dome-shaped closure 18 while the lower end of the shell is left open. A tubular stem 19 extends downwardly into the shell from the upper end of the closure 18 and provides a guide for the rod 20 the lower end of which is provided with a socket for the reception of a stem 21 formed on an insulator 22 the lower end of which is provided with a socket into which a rod 23 is secured which rod is provided near its lower end with an adjustable collar 24 carrying a contact finger 25 for engagement with a stationary contact 26 mounted on a suitable insulator at the lower end of the shell 17. The rod 23 has pivotally connected to its lower end a hand pull rod 27 by means of which the same is manipulated. A threaded boss is formed on the upper end of the dome-shaped closure 18 and is provided with an axial bore which alines with the opening in the stem 19 and a cap 28 is threaded onto the boss and is provided with a retractile coil spring` 29 which is connected to the rod 20 and normally tends to move the same upwardly so as to move the contact 25 away from the Contact 26. A suitable annular flange or collar 30 is formed on the rod 20 intermediate its ends to limit the upward movement of the same.

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention, it is to be understood that such changes may be made in the combination and arrangement of parts as will fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is In a circuit closer, a casing provided with a depending tubular member positioned Within the casing in spaced relation thereto, a rod slidable in said tubular member7 the casing being provided With a boss forming an extension at the upper end of the tubular member, a cap threaded on said boss, a tension spring secured to said oap at one end and to the upper end of the rod at the other end, a rod secured to the loWer end of the first mentioned rod and eleetrioally insulated therefrom, a Contact carried by the second mentioned rod, and a Contact mounted on said casing1 for engagement thereby when said rod is moved into lowered position.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature 15 Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, 'Vihashingtom` D. C. 

